Cape Keri, Zakynthos
I had hired a car for three days on Zakynthos, and on the first day, I headed north, ending up at the northernmost tip of the island at Cape Skinari, where there is a lighthouse and a wonderful view of Kefalonia on a clear day. I then heard that there was a lighthouse at the southernmost point on the island as well, and being a great lover of symmetry, I decided to go there the next day. It was an excellent decision, not because of the lighthouse (which was very much the same as the one at Cape Skinari), but because of a taverna just along the road.
If location is everything, then this taverna has it all. It is situated on the very edge of vertical cliffs that plunge some 700 feet into the sea. The tables are set along a veranda that stops mere inches from the abyss and you have an uninterrupted view of the sea below and a delightful rocky bay which can only be reached by boat.
It is a perfect place for a long lazy lunch or dinner, and I have been told since that it is the place to go to watch the sun set into the West while enjoying a bottle of local wine and good company.
Here is Papa Hemmingway enjoying a chasm-side table at lunch time. (I took my eyes off the view for a few moments just for the shot). The photograph was kindly taken by a Dutch girl at the next table who took pity on a poor Englishman who was so lonely that he was taking photographs of his lunch!
And here was my lunch, a Greek Salad and ice-cold Mythos beer. Absolutely the best thing for the hot traveller, delicious, very Greek and very refreshing.
They had a viewing platform here, so that reckless souls could step out over the brink and experience hardcore vertigo. To make it even more heart-stopping, the platform was ricketty and gave the impression of being poorly maintained (even though I am sure it was perfectly safe). However, it is hard to tell yourself that when you are 700 feet up and the platform sways as you move and the planks you are standing on bend and groan under your weight!
My advice - visit the platform before the meal!
And here is what it looks like staring straight down. I took several photographs from here, just to make sure I got a good one. It’s hard to avoid camera shake when everything else is shaking, and it’s also hard to hold the camera steady when you daren’t let go of anything else to do so!
It really is one of the most stunning views I have ever come across. As I left, I took this photograph of the bay, just as a boatload of people came in to enjoy the beach below. To give some indication of scale, this was quite a good-sized boat with six people sitting in the back and yet it looks tiny.
If ever I manage to get back to Zakynthos (and I will), Cape Keri and its taverna are on my list as first port of call.
